While Goran Dragic was traded to the Miami Heat at the deadline, a person familiar with his thinking said he “loves the opportunity” to join the Los Angeles Lakers and sees them as a “perfect fit” when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The Heat can offer Dragic a five-year deal, while the Lakers and other teams would only be able to offer him a four-year deal.

The Lakers still have a reasonable chance of keeping their own pick this June and they'll also have the Houston Rockets' selection.

Goran Dragic prefers a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks or Miami Heat, but the Phoenix Suns are much more focused on holding discussions with the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings.

Dragic will be a free agent this offseason and both the Knicks and Lakers will have cap space to make a four-year, max offer.

Dragic can only receive a five-year contract from the team that he finishes the 14-15 season with.

Goran Dragic was informed on Tuesday by the Phoenix Suns that they'll accept his request for a trade and try to move him by the deadline, a league source told RealGM.

Dragic informed the Suns he doesn't plan on re-signing with the team this summer as a free agent, according to Sam Amick of the USA Today. Amick reports that there are thought to be seven or eight teams seriously interested in Dragic and that he also wants to be given the freedom and support to run his own team such as Stephen Curry's situation with the Golden State Warriors.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Miami Heat are on Dragic's list.

Kobe Bryant believes the 2011 NBA lockout was designed to limit the capacity for the Los Angeles Lakers to remain a title contender.

The NBA made the luxury tax more punitive in the new collective bargaining agreement.

"Well, okay: Look at the [2011] lockout. That lockout was made to restrict the Lakers. It was. I don't care what any other owner says. It was designed to restrict the Lakers and our marketability."

The NBA also vetoed a trade agreed upon by the Lakers and the league-owned New Orleans Hornets that would have sent Chris Paul to Los Angeles.

"There is only one team like the Lakers. Everything that was done with that lockout was to restrict the Lakers' ability to get players and to create a sense of parity, for the San Antonios of the world and the Sacramentos of the world. But a funny thing happened, coming out of that lockout: Even with those restrictions, the Lakers pulled off a trade [for Chris Paul] that immediately set us up for a championship, a run of championships later, and which saved money. Now, the NBA vetoed that trade. But the Lakers pulled that shit off, and no one would have thought it was even possible. The trade got vetoed, because they'd just staged the whole lockout to restrict the Lakers. Mitch (Kupchak) got penalized for being smart. But if we could do that..."

When the Philadelphia 76ers were working on trading Charles Barkley in 1992, the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers were the final three candidates.

Barkley said this weekend that he was traded to the Lakers, but the 76ers backed out and then completed the Suns' trade.

"The Sixers backed out," said Barkley. "It was going crazy for two weeks so I knew it would come down to Portland, [the] Lakers or Phoenix. So I get a call from my agent one morning and he said, “Philly has traded you to the Lakers.” So I went to lunch and started drinking. I’m f---ing so excited that I am going to the Lakers. Three hours later I get a f---ing phone call from my agent saying that the Sixers backed out of the deal. I said, “Oh, s--t, I’m feeling pretty good right now.” So I went out and played that night."

The Lakers were going to trade James Worthy and Elden Campbell to the 76ers for Barkley and Ron Anderson.

The 76ers acquired Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry from the Suns for Barkley.